Good Times Had
by AshleyTrecartin
Summary: Sequel to Call for a Good Time. Beth and Daryl are happily married now and getting on with their life, even Merle is finding happiness. But the new Governor may cause problems for their family.
1. Chapter 1

Good Times Had

Prologue

Beth giggled as Daryl scooped her up in his arms and carried her inside the cabin, secluded in the mountains of Alaska. It was homey, perfect for their honeymoon. He dropped their bags off of his shoulder, not setting her down as his eyes swept over the room. "What are you looking for?" she asked, playing with his hair. She was glad he'd refused to cut it. He just shook his head and gently set her down on the warn couch beside the brick fireplace.

"I'm going to get some wood," he told her, dropping a kiss on her head before he walked outside. Beth smiled and shook her head. She grabbed their bags and carried them back to the bedroom. She was exhausted from the plane ride, and she was sure he was too, but they hadn't technically had their wedding night yet, so she was sure he wouldn't mind if she kept him awake a little longer. She opened her bag and pulled out the silk down that Maggie and helped her pick out. It was a dark, rich, red, lace trimmed the edges and it barely covered the curve of her backside. It might be a little cold for something so revealing, but she knew after Daryl saw it on her she wouldn't be cold for long.

She slipped into the bathroom and quickly took off her clothes and pulled the silk over her body and studied her face in the mirror. Her makeup wasn't horrible, but her hair had gone flat. She slipped back into the bedroom and grabbed her flat iron, brush, and hair spray. She quickly added some volume to her hair and used the iron to curl some waves into it. Once she was satisfied with her appearance she walked back to the bedroom and dug out the black pumps she's brought with and pulled them on. She couldn't remember being so nervous. She slowly walked back to the living room, her heels clicking on the hardwood floors.

Daryl was kneeling in front of the fire he's stared, letting it breath and getting it going. He'd made a bed of blankets on the floor and she smiled when she saw her favorite wine sitting on the table beside the couch. She just stood there and watched him work, appreciating everything she had. He sighed and sat back on his heels and watched the fire. "Daryl," she called softly, getting his attention.

He turned around slowly and looked at her, his jaw dropping as his eyes swooped over her, head to toe and back again. "Holy shit," he whispered, slowly getting up and crossing to her. She could feel the blush cover her face as he took her hips into his hands and pulled her against him. He dipped his head, his lips brushed against hers. "You're tryin' to kill me," he accused, his hands running up and down her sides against the silk. Beth shivered and moaned in his arms as a consuming heat spread through her body. He chuckled and slowly backed up, leading her to the bed he'd made in front of the fire. "I think it's about time I consummated this marriage, Mrs. Dixon."

She laughed breathlessly as he pulled her down to the flannel blankets under them and pushed her hair away from her face. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled. "So I guess you like my outfit then?" she teased.

He smirked and nuzzled her neck. "I have a feeling it's going to look better on the floor." She felt one of his hands on her thigh, easing up her skin, leaving a path of fire behind. "But you're leaving those shoes on." She bit her lip and arched as his fingers brushed against her. He groaned, dropping his head to her shoulder. "You're already soaking," he whispered against her skin, gently parking her folds and expertly finding her clit. Beth let her eyes drift shut as he rubbed tight circles around it, her hips arching and rolling into his hand.

"Daryl," she gasped out, pulling his shirt from his shoulders. He pulled his hand away long enough to let her pull it over his head. Beth shook as he slowly pushed one of his thick fingers inside of her and slowly started to pump it. The fire he had built in the fireplace couldn't even hold a candle to the fire he was building inside of her. He buried his head in her neck again, kissing, biting, his beard scratching in the sweetest way. She whined when he pulled his finger from her, only teasing her.

He chuckled and slowly pushed the gown off her body, bearing every creamy inch of her skin. He tossed it to the side and gently covered her body with his. He brushed his knuckles over the slope of a breast, stopping long enough to roll her nipple between his fingers. He was using feather light touches, easing her into it even though her body was an inferno that wanted to burn her up and consume her. Her back arched under him. "You're so fucking beautiful," he whispered into her ear.

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down, kissing him. He had no idea what he did to her. His tongue pushed into her mouth and she got drunk on the taste of him, the smell of him as her hands flew to his jeans and pushed them over his hips. He grunted as he kicked them off and rested in the cradle of her hips. They both moaned as his hard length met her dripping center. "I need you," she gasped out, rocking her hips against his, trying to get some friction.

He smirked against her heated skin and pulled back, looking down at her. "Anything you want," he told her, slowly easing into her body. Beth gasped, arching her back, her nails biting into his upper arms as she was stretched and filled. She wrapped her legs around his hips and buried her fingers in his hair as he started thrusting in and out of her, creating a wildfire inside of her. Daryl wrapped his arms around her waist as the sensations got the better of them. He crashed against her over and over again like the waves on the rocks, building the fire inside of her higher and higher, pushing her to the breaking point.

Beth's nails dug into his skin as she arched her back and rolled her body under him, her head hanging back and her mouth open, breathy pants and gasps and moans falling from her lips as he made love to her. "Daryl," she whined, so close to coming she could taste it. She just needed a little more, just a little something to get her there.

He bent his head. "Come for me," he growled. "Right now, come for me, Mrs. Dixon." That was all it took. She cried out, her body tensing as her mind went blank, stars dancing behind her eyelids, her body clenching around him. He groaned, holding her hips tight as he whispered her name and came inside of her.

Daryl gently eased them to the blankets and rolled onto his side, pulling her against him. Beth smiled and kissed his chest, running her fingers over his skin as his danced up and down her back lightly, the fire drying the sweat on their bodies as they caught their breath in each other's arms. "I love you," she whispered as the fire crackled and popped behind them, casting gentle shadows all over the room.

Daryl kissed her head, pushing her hair away from her face as it still clung to her damn skin. "I love you too." She closed her eyes as he held her beside the fire. Everything started to sink in then. Shane was gone, their lives were perfect, and now they belonged to each other and the whole world knew it. Sleep tugged at them and though she tried to fight it, her eyes fell closed as she fell asleep against his chest, his fingers running through her hair.


	2. Chapter 2

Good Times Had

Chapter 1

Beth rolled over and buried herself deeper against Daryl's chest, pulling the blankets closer to her naked skin. She smiled sleepily as his arm wrapped a little tighter around her waist. She loved waking up in his arms. It seemed so surreal that they were really married. There was a small crash from the kitchen and Beth just smiled. Merle was up, and from the sounds of it, trying to make coffee. Beth slowly detangled herself from Daryl and pulled one of his shirts over her head, braiding her hair lazily over her shoulder as she padded out to the kitchen. Merle was throwing away the broken pieces of a coffee mug. "Morning," she greeted, kissing his cheek.

"Mornin' sugar." He sat down at the table and watches her make coffee.

"What did you do while we were gone?"

He huffed and crossed his arms. "Drank the sludge at work," he grumbled.

Beth giggled and shook her head. Maybe it was time she invested in a Keurig for the house. While the coffee brewed she sat down at the table beside Merle and glanced through the newspaper. "Anything good?" she asked, tossing the local section to Merle, trading him for the global section.

"Gas prices are going up," he grunted. Beth sighed as she pushed away from the table and poured them each a cup of coffee. "Hot damn!" Merle slapped his hand on the table, a smile on his face.

"What is it?"

He grinned, laying the paper out and pointing to an article about an older man who was selling his garage on the other side of down. "Daryl and I have had our eyes on this place since we were teenagers." He smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Never thought the old geezer would sell it."

Beth carefully read the story. "There's no asking price." She frowned and opened her laptop, tying the address of the shop into the city's real estate website. "That's not too bad," she commented when it popped up. She turned the screen around and showed Merle.

"Sugar, can you set up a meeting?" Merle looked like a kid at Christmas as he got up from the table and headed back towards the bedrooms.

Beth smiled, shaking her head as she grabbed her cellphone from the counter and dialed the real estate agent's number. "Michonne's Real Estate, this is Michonne. How can I help you?"

She looked up as Merle walked back into the kitchen with Daryl. "Good morning, I was wondering if it would be possible to set up an appointment to visit one of the properties?" Beth smiled as Daryl kissed her good morning before mumbling something to Merle about at least getting a cup of coffee.

"Of course we can do that. Which property were you interested in?" Michonne asked over the phone.

"The garage on Baker Street," she answered, watching as Merle showed Daryl the laptop screen. Daryl's eyes lit up as he looked it over.

"How does eleven sound?"

Beth looked over at the boys. "Ya'll gonna be ready in an hour?" she asked.

"Abso-fucking-lutely."

"Eleven sounds great." Beth hung up and pushed away from the table. "I'm going to go take a shower."

Daryl smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist, following her back to the bathroom. "How about I join you?"

Beth laughed as he buried his head against her neck. "No, because we won't shower, we'll have sex, and then we'll be late." She detangled his arms from around her waist and started the shower. Daryl huffed as he sat on the counter and watched her untangled her hair from the braid. "So we're buying a garage?" she asked as she pulled his shirt over her head and stepped into the shower.

"Probably. Merle and I have always wanted to that that place is perfect. We've been saving up for it for close to fifteen years now." He was quiet for a moment. "You're not mad about this, are you?"

Beth frowned. "Why would I be mad?" That made no sense to her. They were following their dream. How could she be mad about that?

"It's not exactly the best job in the world."

Beth smiled as she washed her body. "You're not just going to be a mechanic though. You're going to own your own business. That means if you and Merle want to handle everything you wouldn't have to fire any employees if you don't want to. Even if you do, your paycheck will still double, at least." She shut off the water and pulled back the curtain, taking the towel he offered her and wrapped it around herself.

"So you're not mad?"

She shook her head and kissed him. "No, I'm not mad." She smiled, resting her forehead against his. "You're my husband. I love you, and I will always support you."

He smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I love you."

Beth smiled and kissed him again. "Good. Now, get in the shower." He smirked and pinched her ass as he turned the water back on and climbed in. She walked to the bedroom to dress.

She was sitting on the bed, dressed, her hair back in a braid over her shoulder, putting on her makeup when he walked in, a towel wrapped loosely around his hips. If they didn't have somewhere to be, Beth would have attacked him. "I was thinking about seeing if Maggie, Glenn, and Lori wanted to work there," he said as he started dressing.

"I don't think they know the first thing about fixing cars." It was a great idea, keep the family together, but she wasn't sure what they were going to do.

"We can teach Glenn, Maggie too if she wants. It's not rocket science. I was thinking Lori could help you out in the office." He looked over as she was finishing up her makeup. "It would get rid of some of the stress on you."

Beth smiled, packing up her makeup and climbing off the bed. She walked over and picked up her boots before kissing him. "A family business sounds perfect."

"Good." He kissed her head, watching her as she sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her boots on. "If everything goes well, you ca invite them over for dinner and we'll talk about it."

Merle poked his head in the door. "Hurry up. We're gonna be late."

Beth laughed as she grabbed her bag and the truck keys, sliding Daryl's wallet into his back pocket. They followed Merle out to the truck and Beth jumped behind the wheel as they boys climbed in. Merle was practically jumping in his seat the whole ride over, and Beth couldn't stop smiling. She didn't think she'd ever seen Merle so excited about anything before.

Michonne was waiting for them when they pulled up and Merle didn't even wait for Beth to completely stop the truck before he had the door open and was climbing out. "You must be the young woman I spoke to." Michonne shook Beth's hand. "I'm Michonne."

"Yes, I'm Beth; this is my husband Daryl and his brother Merle."

Michonne nodded, shaking their hands. "So, should we take a look around?"

"What kind of damage does this place have?" Daryl asked as they followed Michonne inside.

"You'll actually be impressed to know that there isn't much damage at all. The pipes should be checked, a few should be replaced. One of the garage doors needs to be replaced, and if you plan on working with an up-to-date computer system, you'll have to have someone come in and amp up your internet. Other than that everything is up to code."

Beth looked around as Michonne led them around. The place was clean and looked like the previous owner had taken very good care of it. She looked at Daryl. "What do you think?"

He sighed, putting his hands on his hips and looking around. "It's in better shape than I expected," he admitted. He looked at Merle. "What do you think?"

Merle smirked, his eyes shining as he looked around. "I think it's perfect."

"So, does this mean I can get stated on the paper work?" Michonne asked, looking hopeful.

Daryl and Merle shared a look, a silent conversation going on between them. Daryl nodded his head and looked at Michonne. "Yeah, we'll take it."

"Wonderful, I'll go back to my office and starts drawing up the papers. You can come by tomorrow and we'll take care of all of the legality. Just make sure you go by the bank today and discuss a loan amount and bring that with you tomorrow."

"Calm your horses, sugar tits," Merle interjected as they walked back to their vehicles. "We won't be needin' no loan." He reached into the truck and pulled out a pillow case. He dumped it on the seat, spilling stacks of cash. "We've been savin' up," he explained.

Daryl nodded his head. "There should be enough there to buy the place—in full, pay for repairs, a new sign, a new layer of asphalt, and a fresh coat of paint."

Michonne recovered before Beth had. "Well great. We don't accept cash, so you'll need to bring a check." She shook their hands against as Merle packed up the money. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Guess we need to go to the bank." Daryl looked at Beth. "You okay if we put the money in your account and have you write the check?"

"Yeah, I kind of have to be since I'm the only one with a bank account," she teased.

…

Daryl and Merle had been positively giddy the rest of the day. They had been in such a good mood they had helped her out with cleaning the house and making dinner. Daryl and Beth were setting the table and Merle was opening up a bottle of wine when there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it." Beth walked to the door and opened it.

"Hey sis," Maggie greeted, hugging her as she walked in, Glenn behind her.

"Hey guys." She smiled but stayed by the door as Rick pulled in with Lori and Carl. "Hey Carl." She hugged him as he ran up to her.

"What're we having?" Carl asked.

Beth laughed as she showed them into the house. "Daryl made hamburgers on the grill." Carl's face lit up as he ran to the kitchen and jumped into a seat, ready to eat.

"Sorry about him," Lori apologized as they laughed. "How's married life?"

Beth smiled and just looked at Daryl. "Perfect."

"They're still in the honeymoon phase," Rick commented as they made their way to the kitchen. "Remember the honeymoon phase?"

"Oh yeah, I remember, that's how we ended up with that one."

Everyone took a seat around the table and started eating. "So, what's up with the dinner?" Glenn asked. "Not that I'm complaining, I love your cooking."

Beth smiled and looked at Daryl and Merle. "Well, we have some exciting news."

"Are you pregnant?" Carl asked.

Beth laughed and shook her head. "No, I'm not pregnant." She looked at Daryl.

"Merle and I are buying a garage. We're going in tomorrow to sign the paperwork."

"Well congratulations," Rick said holding his glass up as a toast. Everyone drank.

"We want you all to work there, if you want." Daryl looked at Glenn and Maggie. "Merle and I can teach you the basics, how to change tires, oil, shit like that."

"Sounds like fun," Glenn said looking at Maggie.

"Yeah it does, I'd love to." Maggie agreed.

"And, Rick I know you're not gonna quit being a cop, but we thought Lori could help Beth out in the office." Daryl said looking at her.

Lori smiled and nodded her head. "I'd be honored to."

Beth smiled and looked around. She loved her family, she really did. Nothing was going to get better than this. She was married to the love of her life, they were opening their own business, and their family was going to come work with them. Everything was perfect.


	3. Chapter 3

Good Times Had

Chapter 2

Beth was going over some of the files they were going to have to take with them to the new shop, trying to get things ready. She was doing her best, but lately she'd been so tired and had felt sick to her stomach all of the time. She was beginning to think that it was time to go to the doctor, Daryl and Merle were getting worried about her too, she could tell every time they looked at her and could tell she wasn't feeling well. She sighed, pulling her hair back as she sat at the table and shifted through the filed. Daryl and Merle were out at a meeting with a painter, and after that they were going to check on the new sign they were having made for the shop.

It was only midafternoon but she already felt like she could sleep for days. She got up to make more coffee, the only thing getting her through the days lately, when her stomach rioted. She ran to the sink as she spilled the contents of her stomach. Blindly she reached up and turned the faucet on to wash it down the drain. She pulled back slowly, wiping her mouth on a paper towel and wiping her eyes. She hated vomiting. She was convinced she was sick then and leaned forward on the counter, resting her upper body against the cool laminate. Well, she was convinced she was sick until her put pressure on her upper body and noticed a soreness that hadn't been there before.

Realization hit her like a two ton truck and she quickly made her way back to the bathroom. "Where is it?" she complained, digging around in the bottom of the drawer for the gag-gift Maggie had given her for a wedding gift. When she found it, she stared down at it. She'd always meant to throw it away, but now she was thankful she hadn't. Shakily she sat down and ripped the box open. The next three minutes were torture as she paced around the small bathroom, staring dangerously at the stick on the counter. She picked it up, looking at it. The little pink plus was a stark contrast against the white surrounding it and she slowly covered her mouth, staring down at it as tears welled up in her eyes.

Shakily she reached into her pocket for her cellphone and called Daryl. Each dial tone was a knife in her gut, dragging her anxiety out as she started to slightly panic. She didn't know if she was supposed to be happy or upset. "Beth? Everything okay?" he asked when he finally, finally answered the phone.

"No, you need to come home…now." She knew she was probably being over dramatic, that there was probably nothing to worry about, but she wanted him there, now.

"What's wrong?" She could hear him and Merle getting into the truck and starting the engine. "Baby, what's going on?"

"Just come home." She hung up the phone and walked into the kitchen, the stick clutched tightly in her hand as he paced around and waited for him to get home. She was running through all of the "what if's" while she waited. What if he wasn't happy? What if they had to abandon the shop? What if he left her? What if she couldn't handle it? What if she wasn't any good at it? What if she didn't want it? She was so wrapped up in her anxiety she didn't realize they'd walked through the door until he grabbed her face and made her look at him.

"What the fuck is going on?" he demanded. She held out the stick, unable to get her mouth to work, she just showed him. He looked at it, his brows knitting in confusion for a moment before he realized what she'd just given him and what it mean. "Oh shit," he whispered, falling back against the counter.

"What is it?" Merle demanded. He looked at what Daryl was holding in his hand before he broke out in a wide grin. "Oh, this is good." He laughed, walking to the living room and turning the television on.

Beth stared down at Daryl. "What are we going to do?" she whispered. He looked at her, his eyes unfocused for a moment before he wrapped his arms tight around her and kissed her. Beth gasped, gripping his shoulders, not expecting that reaction from him as he slightly bent her backwards. She let her eyes drift shut as she kissed him back.

"Hey, ya'll already made the baby! Don't fuck in the kitchen," Merle called from the living room.

Beth blushed and pulled back, looking up at Daryl. "You're not mad?" she asked, worrying her bottom lip. She really had expected him to get angry.

"Hell no." He kissed her again. "I'm scared as fuck, but I ain't mad baby."

She smiled and threw her arms around him, tears leaking from her face. "I'm scared too," she whispered. He nuzzled her neck, picking her up and resting her on the counter. She watched as he dropped to his knees and rubbed his face against her belly, his arms wrapped around her waist. She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. It didn't matter if they were married or not, he kept surprising her with just how emotional and affectionate he could be sometimes.

She looked over at Merle sitting alone on the couch, a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other as she ran her fingers through Daryl's hair, content to let him stay there as long as he wanted. She decided that it was high time the older Dixon settled down with a good woman. She picked up her phone as Daryl lightly kissed her belly, tickling her slightly and scrolled through her contacts. When she saw her name she just smiled and nodded her head. She was exactly what Merle needed. She sent a quick test message to her and put the phone back down, looking at Daryl. "What are you up to?" he asked.

She just shook her head and bent forward, kissing him. "Don't worry about it." She laughed when he picked her up and carried her back to the bedroom. "We're going to need to tell daddy and Maggie," she mentioned as he gently set her back down on her feet. "And I'll have to go see a doctor."

"We can do that tomorrow." He pulled his phone from his pocket and held it up. "I want a picture, let me see the belly shot."

Beth giggled and turned to the side, pulling up her shirt. "Gonna take one every week?" she teased.

"Hell yeah." He took the picture and smirked kissing her. "I love you."

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his jaw. "I love you too."


	4. Chapter 4

Good Times Had

Chapter 3

Beth grinned when she heard the knock on the door. She wiped her hands on the dish cloth over her shoulder before throwing it to the counter and walking to the door. Daryl and Merle were sitting on the couch and had no idea what was going on. "You expectin' someone?" Daryl asked as she opened the door.

"I am." Beth smiled at the woman. "C'mon on in." She opened the door wider as she stepped into the house. Bet watched Merle, watching his reaction to her. She was easily the sexiest woman Beth knew, she had long mahogany hair that touched the middle of her back and the greenest eyes, they looked like emeralds. Not to mention she was exactly Merle's type. "Daryl, Merle, I'd like you to meet Lucina."

Merle was just staring at her, he couldn't say anything. Daryl got up and shook her head. "Nice to meet you."

Lucina smiled. "You too."

"I'll order some pizzas." Beth headed to the kitchen feeling absolutely giddy as she pulled out her phone. She was placing the order when Daryl walked over to get some beer from the fridge. He waited until she was off of the phone before he pinned her with a look.  
"What?" she asked innocently.

"You're up to something." He leaned back against the counter and looked towards the living room. Merle was trying to sit up straight and dust crumbs from his clothes as Lucina sat beside him on the couch. "You tryin' to get him to settle down?"

Beth smirked and looked at him. "Maybe," she admitted. "Oh come on, Lucina and Merle are perfect for each other. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner." Daryl just shook his head as they made their way back to the living room. "Pizza should be here soon."

"So, Lucina? What kind of name is that?" Merle asked, taking the beer Daryl offered.

She smiled and pushed her hair away from her shoulder, thanking Daryl as she took her own beer. "It's Italian," she answered, looking at him. "It means graceful light." Beth rolled her eyes. "Something funny about that Bethy?" she asked with a smirk.

"There is nothing light about you. Don't forget we used to share a dorm and I remember waking up with you on top of me more than once after you'd gotten shit-faced drunk." That's how Beth had met Lucina. They had been best friends before everything went to shit in her life and she'd moved in with Daryl and Merle. She felt bad that she didn't stay as close with Lucina as she would have liked, but things were changing and if everything went well tonight; Beth would be seeing more of her.

"We can't all be petite little blondes."

"You got a nickname?" Merle asked. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she'd walked through the door.

Lucina smiled at him and Beth swore she saw Merle blush. "Yeah, you can call me Lucy." She smiled and took a drink of her beer. "So I hear you guys are opening a shop?" she asked. "You looking for anyone?"

Merle quirked an eyebrow at that and Beth was almost bouncing in her seat as she realized what was about to happen. "You know much about cars?" he asked.

"I rebuilt my dad's old 1967 Chevy Impala from the ground up." She smirked a bit, watching his jaw drop. "And no one touched my bike but me."

"You ride?" Beth was staring at Merle, he looked so impressed, and slightly turned on. Unfortunately there was a knock at the door, most likely their pizza so she had to tear her eyes away from the couple as she answered the door.

"Yeah, since I was sixteen." She smiled a bit. "First bike I ever had was a Harley, never rode anything else since then."

Beth felt Daryl behind her as he reached past her and paid the delivery guy for the food before she took the boxes. "You're a genius," he whispered as she closed the door and carried the boxes to the living room table. She just gave him a wink as they sat down.

Merle nodded his head, clearly impressed. "What were you goin' to school for?" he asked.

Beth had never seen him so interested in someone before. It amazed her how easily the two of them were hitting it off. They spent the whole night talking, eating pizza and drinking beer. Beth wanted to stay up to see what happened, but she was falling asleep in Daryl's lap. "I think we're going to head to bed," Daryl announced, picking her up and carrying her back to the bedroom. She had no idea what happened to Merle and Lucina but she was sure she would hear about it in the morning.

…

They were at the shop the next morning when Merle came riding up on his bike. He hadn't been home earlier when Beth and Daryl had woken up and she'd had a mini heart attack as she realized what could have happened. He looked like he had a spring in his step as he walked towards them. "Where did you go last night?" Beth teased.

He smirked and kissed her head. "Lucy and I went out, ended up crashin' at her place." Beth grinned wildly as the implications shot through her head. "Calm down sugar, didn't sleep with her."

"That's even better!" Beth was a fit of giggles as he walked off to help Daryl in the garage. They were almost ready to open up. Lori looked at her and shook her head. "I set Merle up with a friend of mine last night," she explained. "I think it went well."

"It's about time he settled down," Lori agreed. They were working on the office, scrubbing it down and getting the computer systems hooked up.

"Lucy is perfect for him too." Beth looked over towards the garage and frowned when she saw a black Cadillac pull in. "Who's that?"

"Good question."

Lori followed Beth towards the garage as a man stepped out from the car and looked around. Maggie, Glenn, Daryl, and Merle came out to meet them. "Who's that?" Daryl asked. Beth shook her head as the man walked towards them. "Can I help you with somethin'?"

"I'm Philip Blake, the new Governor." He shook Daryl's hand. "I'm just goin' around, introducing myself, getting to know the people I serve."

Beth glanced over as Rick pulled up and made his way towards them. Daryl didn't seem impressed though. "So you came out here to a redneck garage?" he asked. "No offence, but we're not exactly fans of government."

Merle smirked a bit as Rick walked up. "Officer," Philip nodded.

Rick shook his hand and nodded, looking at Daryl. "Philip's main office is going to be here, so he wants to get to know the community."

"Sure picked a shit hole of a city to hold up in," Merle commented. "May give people the wrong impression."

Philip chuckled and shook his head. "Just trying to make a difference." He looked at Rick. "You said your friends were outspoken, you didn't lie." Beth didn't know how she felt about this new Governor, something felt off about him. "I heard ya'll had some trouble with one of the officers about a year ago."

Daryl nodded his head, his body moving between Beth and the Governor. Shane might be dead in the ground, but it still pissed him off every time he heard about it. "Yeah, he tried to kill my wife."

"Well I'm sorry to hear that. I want you to know that I'm ordering internal affairs to conduct an investigation." He was trying to win the Dixon brothers over, but that didn't happen easily, especially with government officials.

Daryl crossed his arms and looked at him. "Well, it's a little late for that, sunshine." Philip laughed awkwardly. "We gotta get back to work, grand opening is comin' up." He turned and escorted Beth back inside. She glanced over her shoulder and saw him talking with Rick.

"I don't like that guy," she whispered. "Something doesn't feel right." Daryl nodded his head as they watched him leave. Beth sighed and rubbed her belly.

"You okay?" he asked, looking down at her.

She nodded. "The baby doesn't like it when mommy gets anxiety." She smiled a little as Daryl dropped to his knees and nuzzled her belly.

"Guess we have to keep mommy happy then, don't we?" He smirked up at her.

Beth rolled her eyes and kissed his head. "Get back to work." She smiled watching him head back to the garage before she joined Lori in the office again. Maybe it was the pregnancy, or maybe she was just paranoid, but she really didn't like their new Governor. She sighed as they got back to work.


	5. Chapter 5

Good Times Had

Chapter 4

Beth looked up as Daryl walked into the office; they were working on some last minute details before they had to clear out so the asphalt crew could lay down a new parking lot. She was in the middle of trying to set up payroll. They had taken Lucy up on her offer to help them out as well, so she would be working once the shop opened. Beth and Daryl were seeing more and more of Lucy lately; it was like Merle couldn't get enough of her which made Beth ecstatic. She was happy that he was starting to settle down. Daryl walked over and kissed her head. "Ready?" he asked.

She sighed and logged off the computer and shut it down. "Yeah, I've still got Maggie and Glenn to set up but they're supposed to come by tomorrow with all of their information so I can put it into the system." He nodded his head and grabbed her coat for her. She was four months now and just starting to show. "What do you want for dinner?" she asked as they made their way to the truck. The doctor had all but forbid her to ride motorcycles anymore until after she delivered the baby.

He sighed as he helped her into the truck. "I was thinking we could just pick up some Chinese, unless that's going to make you sick."

"It shouldn't, I had some last week." Everything had started to change with the pregnancy. She couldn't stand the smell of red meat cooking anymore and it was driving the boys crazy since they all but lived off of it. He nodded as he climbed into the truck and pulled out of the parking lot, only, he went the wrong way. "Where are we going?"

He smirked and glanced at her. "It's a surprise." Beth had no idea where they could be going; he drove her into a nicer part of the town where the homeowners actually cared what the neighbors thought. She bit her lip as she looked at some of the houses. She'd always imagined she'd live in a house like that with a few kids running around and a dog, maybe a cat. But she loved her life the way it was. When Daryl pulled into a nice two story house, somewhat on the outside of town with a big fenced in yard and a tall oak tree she started to get really nervous, more so when she saw Michonne stepping out of her car.

"Daryl, what the hell is going on?" she asked as he shut off the car.

"I thought we could use a bigger place, especially since we have a baby on the way." He turned and looked at her. "I don't want to raise our child in that shit hole I was raised in." Her heart melted as he got out and came around the truck to help her out. "Michonne said this was right around our price range, and it's close to the school and work."

She kissed him and smiled. "I love you." He grinned and slipped his hand into hers as they met Michonne by the door.

"So, are you two ready to look at the house?" she asked. They nodded and followed her into the house. It was perfect. There was a huge kitchen with an island and room for a big dining room table where they could actually fit everyone when they had their big dinners. There were three bedrooms downstairs and another two upstairs, a big living room and a huge fenced in back yard. Beth fell in love with it the more she saw. She could see them living there, and not just her, Daryl, and the baby, they could move Merle in too. She honestly could not imagine living without Merle, he was a huge part of the family and they needed to stay together.

The ended the tour back by the front door. "So, what do you think?" Michonne asked.

Beth just shook her head. "I love it." She looked at Daryl. "It's perfect, there a room for us, a nursery, Merle, and two guest rooms. I absolutely love this place."

Daryl smirked and wrapped his arm around her waist and looked at Michonne. "You heard the lady, we'll take it."

Michonne grinned. "Alright, same deal as last time. I'm assuming you'll need a loan this time, which is fine. Just come by the office after talking to the bank and we'll get everything squared away. There aren't any other buyers on this property, so I'll alert the previous owners and we should be ready to have you move in, in as early as three months."

Daryl shook her head and led Beth back to the truck and helped her inside. "I'm in love with it," she said again as he drove them home.

"I thought you would be," he chuckled as he drove. "I think we should get a dog."

Beth grinned and looked at him. "Can we?" Daryl laughed as the pulled into the driveway and noticed the fourth motorcycle sitting there. "Looks like Lucina's back," she said grinning. "I'm so happy they're getting along."

Daryl smirked as he shut off the truck. "Me too, she's really a good match for Merle." He helped her out of the car. When they opened the door they were not expecting to see Merle on the couch with Lucina in his lap making out. But that's what they saw. She was running her fingers through his short hair and he had his hands on her waist, flirting with the end of her shirt. Daryl cleared his throat and broke them apart, a dark blush colorings Lucina's face.

"Normal people knock," Merle muttered.

"Not when they're walking into their own house," Daryl shot back smirking. "Hey Luce." He nodded his head at her as he walked into the kitchen for a beer.

"Hey Daryl." She slowly climbed off of Merle's lap and sat beside him on the couch. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she leaned against him. She looked over at Beth. "Did you love it?" she asked.

Beth glanced at Daryl and realized that Merle and Lucina already knew about the house. She just smiled and sat on Daryl's lap as he sat in his chair. "I love it, so, so much."

"Knew you would." Merle grinned and looked at them. "What's for dinner?"

"Gonna order Chinese in a little bit," Daryl answered. He nodded his head and turned the television on as they settled in for the night.

…

On the other side of town Philip was getting ready to put his plan into action. He just had a few things to work out. "What do you want to do about that sheriff?" Michael asked.

He sighed and poured himself a drink, staring out the window as the sun set. "We'll have to think of a way to take him out." He turned around and looked at Michael. "He's dangerous. I know he covered up the murders the Dixon brothers committed, it's just logic." He sighed and sat down behind his desk. "Put a covert detail on Rick for now. I want to know where he's going, what he's doing and who he's seeing. If he keeps spending so much time with the Dixons we may need to take care of them too."

Michael nodded his head and walked out. Philip sat back in his chair. If he could get rid of Rick he could appoint whoever he wanted as sheriff and that would solve plenty of problems when he tried to start getting his cocaine business through the city. He finished his drink before getting up and leaving the office for the night. As soon as Rick was out of the way the city would be his for the taking.


	6. Chapter 6

Good Times Had

Chapter 5

"I feel fat," Beth complained as she stared at herself in the mirror. She was five months along now and was starting to show more and more. The tight black dress that had been so flattering at one point was starting to hug her curves just a little too tight now.

Daryl looked over from where he was trying to put on a tie for Maggie's party. "We don't gotta go," he mumbled, giving up on the tie and walking over, wrapping his arms around her waist, folding his hands over her belly. "And you're not fat."

She smiled a little and put her hands over his. "We have to go, Merle invited Lucina." She smiled at that. They spent almost every day together at work, but they would always see each other at night too. Beth didn't think they'd slept together yet, but she was waiting for it. "And I want to see the look on Lori's face when Carl opens his crossbow." She smirked and looked at Daryl through the mirror.

He chuckled and kissed her head. "Alright, then you better put this noose on me." Beth rolled her eyes and turned around to tie his tie for him.

"You know, you really should know how to do this yourself."

"Never had a reason to until I met you." He gave her a playful glare before stuffing his feet into a pair of boots. Beth followed him out to the truck; Merle had left already to pick up Lucina. The weather was getting colder and colder by the day. Beth eyed the snow on the ground with an evil look. She was just happy they hadn't shut down the roads like normal. People were just going to have to be extra careful on them tonight as they drove through the sharp bends and deep curves on the road.

They were the last ones to arrive at the old farm house and the party was in full swing, Hershel even looked like he was having fun. Beth let Daryl drop off presents as she went to the kitchen to see if she could help Maggie with anything. "I still can't believe you're having a baby," Maggie told her, putting her hand on her belly. "Any kicking yet?" she asked.

Beth shook her head. "No, it's too soon. We're getting our first ultrasound in a month though."

"Those are always emotional," Lori warned her, opening a bottle of wine. "Rick would deny it until he died, but he cried when we saw Carl for the first time."

Beth smiled at that, she didn't doubt it for a second. "I'm excited, but we haven't decided if we want to know the sex yet. Daryl says yes one day and then no the next. I think he's nervous."

"Can you blame him?" Maggie asked. "It's his first. Glenn's going to be a wreck when we have our first."

Beth smiled as she helped Lori and Maggie carry food to the other room. Daryl was there in a heartbeat, trying to take the tray from her. "No," she said side stepping him, "I'm not that fat yet." She put the tray down and looked at him. "I can still lift things."

He huffed and crossed his arms. "Fine," he pouted.

Beth smiled. He was taking the pregnancy thing better than she had expected. She wrapped her arms around him as he kissed her head. "Love you though," she whispered to him.

"Love you too." The night carried on with everyone laughing, telling stories, and Glenn constantly trying to trick Maggie under the mistletoe. When it came time to open presents they all gathered around the tree. "Okay little man," Daryl said, grabbing Carl's present, "you open this one first."

They all watched as Carl tore into the bright paper and laughed as his mouth dropped. "No way!" He jumped up and held the crossbow out. "You're gonna teach me right?" he asked, looking up at Daryl hopeful.

"Long as your mamma don't mind."

Carl looked at Lori and didn't say anything, just gave her that pleading look. "Well how can I say no?"

By the time they got home Beth was ready to just pass out. "That was so much fun," Lucina commented as Merle fell onto the couch, pulling her into him.

Beth smiled and nodded. "I can't believe Glenn didn't get Maggie under the mistletoe once." She rested against Daryl's chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "I think I'm ready for bed." They all agreed and headed to their respective bedrooms. If they hadn't been so tired Beth would have expected Merle and Lucina to seal the deal, but Merle was half asleep as he followed her back to his room. She fell into bed, not caring that she still had all of her clothes and makeup on. She was just too tired to pull any of it off. She curled into Daryl's chest as he climbed into bed beside her, managing to at least kick off his boots, the tie had been lost hours ago. She closed her eyes as she fell asleep against him.

Daryl stared down at her as she slept. He was dog tired too but he just loved watching her. He honestly couldn't believe that she was really his, and that she was carrying his child. He dropped a hand to her belly. "Night peanut," he whispered before kissing Beth's head and falling asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Good Times Had

Chapter 6

Beth was bouncing in her seat as Daryl drove towards the hospital. They were on their way for their first ultrasound of the baby. She was near the end of her second trimester which mean they were in the long stretch. The last three months were going to be the worst. She bit her lip as he pulled in and found somewhere to park. "Nervous?" he asked, cutting the engine.

"A little." She looked at him. "Are you?"

He grinned and leaned over, kissing her. "Hell no." He came around and helped her out of the truck and took her hand as they walked inside. He let her sit down in a chair as he checked them in. Beth looked at the wall full of pamphlets. She and Daryl had looked at a few of them, but they really didn't want to know about all of the things that could go wrong. He sat down beside her and she laced their fingers, squeezing his more than she had planned on. He covered her hand with his and kissed her. "It's going to be fine."

She nodded a little but jumped when the nurse called their name. He helped her up and led her back to the door. "How're we doing today?" the nurse asked.

"Nervous," Beth admitted.

Julie smiled and nodded her head. "That's normal for first time mothers. I'm sure everything will be fine, you're young, you're healthy, and dad is taking good care of you right?"

Beth smiled. "The best care."

Julie led her into a room. "Good. Go ahead and climb up on the table and we can get started."

Daryl helped Beth up onto the table and she slowly pulled her shirt up over her belly. Julie took a seat on the stool beside the bed and snapped on a pair of gloves. When she put the gel on Beth's skin she jumped. "Oh, that's cold." Daryl and Julie chuckled.

"Okay, let's see what's going on." Julie picked up the handheld and gently pressed it against Beth's belly as she started to move it around. Beth and Daryl both stared at the screen. It was black at first but soon enough, an image of a white baby appeared. Beth's heart melted as tears came to her eyes.

She couldn't take her eyes off of the screen but she reached for Daryl's hand. "That's our baby," she whispered.

He kissed her head. "I love you."

Julie smiled and looked at him. "Did you want to know what the sex was?" she asked. Beth nodded her head, furiously, too choked up to answer. "It's a little girl."

Everything crashed down on her as she realized that she was actually making a human being. She was carrying Daryl's daughter inside of her. She squeeze his hand hard, unable to stop crying as Julie printed out some photos and wiped the gel from Beth's skin. She looked up at Daryl and pulled him down, kissing him. "I love you," she whispered, resting her head against his.

"These are for you," Julie said, handing Daryl the photos. "We'll see you in a month Beth, remember, keep your stress level down, make sure you're eating enough, don't over work." She smiled as Daryl helped her down.

Beth stared at the small picture in her hands as Daryl led her back to the truck and helped her in and the whole way back home. "We're going to need to come up with a name," he told her as he helped her out of the truck.

She smiled and shook her head. "Abigail." She looked up at Daryl as she sat down on the couch. "I've always loved that name."

He sat down beside her and put his arm around her, taking the pictures from her and looking at them. "Abby," he tested. "I like it." She smiled and curled against him as they just stared at the pictures. That was how Merle and Lucina found them when they got home later that night.

"I take it the appointment went well?" Merle asked, kicking Daryl's foot when they didn't look up at them.

"We're having a girl," Beth answered, a smile on her face as she passed a few of the pictures to him and Lucina.

Lucina smiled and flipped through the ultrasound photos. "She's going to be gorgeous."

"Let's just hope she takes after the Greenes and not the Dixons." Merle smirked as he walked to the kitchen and got three beers, passing them around. "Last thing we need is a little Daryl."

"Eat me."

"No thanks."

…

Rick could feel the chill on the back of his neck, like he was being watched. He glanced in his rearview again, noticing the black sedan that was still following him. It was a few blocks back, but it had been tailing him for a few hours now. He swore as he pulled back into the station. Something was going on and he didn't like not knowing what it was. He had thought they were over all of that bullshit when Shane had died. He was still tying up loose ends from that. They didn't need another shit storm right now.

…

Beth woke in the middle of the night when she felt the baby kick. "Daryl!" She shook him awake with one hand, the other on her belly.

"What's going on?" He jumped up, looking at her, fearing something was wrong with the baby. She grabbed his hand and held it against her belly. She laughed when his eyes grew wide in his head. "Doesn't that hurt?" he asked.

She giggled and shook her head. "Not yet, I'm sure it will later." They just stared at each other, both with a hand on her belly. At least, until they heard Lucina moaning rather loudly from the other room. Beth grinned looking at Daryl. "Guess she finally found out what the Dixon gift was," she teased.

Daryl rolled his eyes as they laid back down under the sheets. "They better keep quiet."


	8. Chapter 8

Good Times Had

Chapter 7

Beth walked into the kitchen much earlier than she would have liked. The baby had been kicking all night and she hadn't slept much. Giving up on sleep she went to get something to eat, hoping it calmed Abby down. She hadn't expected to find Lucina making coffee in one of Merle's shirts and what Beth assumed was little else. Her long hair cascaded down her back and the shoulder of the shirt was hanging low on her arm, giving Beth a nice glimpse of the black and red angel wings tattooed on her back. She smirked a little as she walked to the fridge. "Good morning."

Lucina turned and looked at her, a small bush on her face. "Morning. Sorry, I didn't think anyone would be up this early or I would have put on pants…and a bra."

Beth laughed and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I've done it plenty of times." Beth grabbed an orange from the fridge and sat down to peel it at the table. "So I guess you and Merle are official now?" she asked.

Lucina smiled and sat beside her with her coffee. Beth really missed coffee. "Yeah, I really like him. He's a little rough, and he can be a complete jackass sometimes, but he's loyal and that's hard to find these days."

Beth nodded her head. "It's a Dixon thing. Daryl's the same way." She laughed a little. "But when we fight, we fight like cats and dogs, but the makeup sex is so worth it." They both laughed as Merle walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee before sitting down.

"The hell you two laughin' at so damn early?" he asked gruffly.

"You." Beth smirked and threw an orange peel at him. He just grunted as Daryl walked in, rubbing the heel of his hand into his eye. "Mornin' sexy."

He mumbled something and went straight for the coffee. Beth really, really missed coffee. "Beth we have to go meet Michonne later," he told her as he sat beside her, propping his feet up on her thigh.

"Why?" she asked looking at him, picking at her orange. Suddenly she wanted watermelon.

"We're closing on the house today."

"Oh, yeah." She smiled and shook her head. "I'd forgotten about that." She sighed and sat back. "Guess I should go take a shower."

"Don't sound so excited," he muttered, sipping his coffee.

"You didn't have a baby playing kick the can with your insides all night." She pushed her orange away and stood up, letting his legs fall to the ground. She turned and headed for the bathroom a little annoyed with him. He'd been great for the first few months but he was getting just as moody as she was as the months carried on. Now that she was only two months off from having the baby her hormones were all over the place. She knew she was snapping at him more, but she couldn't help it, she couldn't control her emotions and it was taking its toll on both of them. She sighed as she climbed into the shower and quickly washed. Daryl was in the bedroom when she walked in.

"I'm sorry," he told her.

She nodded her head. "Me too." He kissed her head as she grabbed some clothes and started to dress. "I am excited, it means we can start moving in, and we've got the party for the shop opening tonight."

He nodded and sat on the bed, pulling his boots on. "Yeah, that should be fun. Carl's excited. He's been texting me all week." Beth smiled as she pulled her hair over her shoulder and braided it.

…

That night everyone was at the shop for the party. The meeting with Michonne had gone better than great, they were going to start moving in the next day and everyone had offered to help so tonight they were enjoying the party. Carl was running around checking everything out as the adults drank and partied. Beth smiled, standing out of the action near the table where the food was set up and just looked around. Everyone was there and she hadn't been happier in a while. Maybe it was the hormones but there was something about seeing everyone she cared about having fun and enjoying themselves, celebrating the opening of a business that had been her husband's dream since he was a teenager.

She smiled as Maggie walked over and put her arm around her. "How's mommy doing?" she asked.

Beth sighed a little. "Mommy didn't sleep well last night because Abby decided to practice her kicking." She put a hand on her belly and rubbed it. Abby was almost always inactive during the day when Beth could handle the kicking, it was only at night when she got super active. "She's a night owl."

Maggie frowned a little. "Sorry to hear that."

Beth shook her head. "I don't mind that so much as the hormones. I'm either really happy or I'm arguing with Daryl. He's doing the best he can but I know it's wearing him down." She could feel a big blow up coming. It was only a matter of time.

"I'm sure it'll be okay." Maggie looked around at everyone. "I'm glad Michonne's here."

Beth nodded. "Me too, without her we wouldn't have the shop or that gorgeous house we're moving into." She smiled as she looked over to where Daryl and Rick were siting with Rick while Carl told them jokes.

Everything was going great until they heard the screeching tires of a car. They all looked over to the road where a red car was driving by, spinning its tires. The windows rolled down and guns popped out. "Beth!" Daryl screamed as the guns started firing at them. Maggie pushed Beth down and covered her body as everyone hit the floor, screaming. Bullets ricocheted all around them. It was over just as quickly as it had started and the car was taking off again, tires spinning on the pavement.

"Are you okay?" Maggie demanded as she helped Beth up.

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm okay." She looked over at Daryl who was already on his way to her. She threw her arms around him.

"What the fuck was that?" Merle demanded. He walked over to check the security cameras, hoping they'd picked up the plate number. "Mother fuck!" He threw the keyboard against the wall, smashing it to bits.

"Merle, baby, calm down." Lucina went to him, wrapping her arms around him. He crushed her against him and kisses her head.

"You know who they were?" Daryl asked looking over at Rick.

"They looked Asian, they could be Kin's men." He sighed and pushed a hand through his hair as he put his arm around Lori who was holding Carl close.

Daryl swore and kicked over a trashcan. "Those fuckers," he growled. He eyed Rick. "You find out who did this and you deal with it. Or I will."

Rick nodded. "Daryl I'll take care of it, just calm down. Take Beth home."

Daryl nodded, putting his arm around Beth and led her back to the truck. Beth bit her lip the whole way home. She had a feeling that tonight was only the beginning. The shit storm was only going to get worse.


	9. Chapter 9

Good Times Had  
Chapter 9

He glared at the three men standing in his office. "You were supposed to kill them. Do you mean to tell me that not even one person got shot?" He was not happy. That was the last time he trusted drug lords to do his dirty work for him. He was going to have to look into hiring some hit men to deal with the sheriff and his mechanics.

"It wasn't our fault, we lit that place up."

His eyes narrowed as he stared them down. "Not your fault? You were the ones holding the guns. It is very much your fault." He sighed and picked up his phone. "Get out of my sight before I decide to kill you. I don't want your blood staining my new carpet." He turned his attention to his phone as he searched his contacts list. Once he found the number he was looking for he dialed and waited for an answer. "That offer you made me a few months ago? I'm going to reconsider. Be in my office in an hour." He hung up and put his phone down. He could feel a headache coming on.

He was getting pressure from the cartel to get rid of the sheriff so they could start moving their drugs. However, after he'd read the files about Shane, he had decided that the Dixons were just as much of a threat as Grimes. If he got rid of Grimes but let the other two live he was going to be living a real life Sons of Anarchy scenario. He didn't need two rednecks throwing a wrench into his plans. He sighed and rested his head back against the chair, waiting for his man to show up. Soon, the Dixons and Grimes would just be a memory.

…

Beth whined as she attempted to reach the remote sitting on the table, her extended belly making it nearly impossible and she was home alone. "Fuck this." She sat back against the couch and extended one of her legs, pressing the buttons with her toes. That's how Daryl, Merle, and Lucina found her when they got home.

"Having problems baby?" Daryl asked, picking up the remote and handing it to her.

"I was doing just fine." Beth flipped the television off after going through the guide for the fourth time and whined. "There is nothing on." She dropped her arms to the couch over dramatically and looked at Daryl. "I'm bored."

He smirked and sat beside her, putting his arm around her. "Well I'm sorry. You can't be at work right now. With the shooting and not knowing who did it, it's too dangerous."

She rolled her eyes. "I know that but I hate being trapped in this huge house all day by myself while you get to go socialize with people."

"Maybe we should get a baby sitter?" Merle suggested, sitting beside Daryl, puling Lucina onto his lap. Lucina had moved in with them when they moved to the new house and Beth was happy that she wasn't outnumbered anymore.

Beth glared at him, not appreciating the joke. "I just need something to do. I can't paint the nursery, which still needs to be done, I can't clean, I can't go for a ride on my bike, I can't do anything but sit here, eat, and pee all day. It's driving me crazy."

Daryl kissed her head. "Carl's out of school and Lori doesn't like him hanging around the shop because of what happened, what if we had him come stay with you?"

Beth thought about that for a minute. She adored Carl; he was such a sweet kid. She nodded her head. "That will suffice." Daryl nodded his head and smiled. She knew she was probably getting on his nerves, but half of it she couldn't help; it was the hormones from the baby. They only had one more month to get through and then things would get better. She just had to keep reminding herself of that.

…

"Big day," Lucina commented as she walked into the kitchen.

Beth was sitting at the table. It was ten in the morning and she'd already eaten half a carton of chocolate ice cream. She nodded her head and smiled a little. "I'm excited, it'll be nice to have everyone here. The guys might not enjoy it, but I sure as hell am." Lori, Maggie, and Lucina had planned a baby shower for her and it was supposed to happen out at the farm house in an hour. Beth had been up for hours already, partly because of the baby kicking and partly because she was just too excited to sleep.

Daryl walked in and kissed her. "Don't see why we have to be there, ain't this a girl thing?" Merle asked, walking in after him.

"Blame Lori, she thought it would be a good idea." Beth got up and stretched. "Time to go." Daryl helped her out to the truck and helped her inside. "We're going to have to—"

"Don't say it." Daryl climbed into the truck and started it as Lucina and Merle climbed onto their bikes.

"Daryl we can't have the baby in the truck. We're going to have to get a car." She smiled a little and looked at him. "We don't have to get a minivan, just something safer and you can keep the truck, just use it for shop purposes." She smirked a little looking out the window. "I was thinking we could get a powder blue Prius."

He shot her a dirty look and she just laughed. "We're not getting a Prius."

"But they're supposed to be safe."

"Baby, I love you, but we get a Chevy, or you can walk that baby everywhere." Beth rolled her eyes. If there was one thing the Dixon brothers loved as much as their bikes, it was Chevy trucks.

"I don't see why you're making such a big deal about it, it's not like you're going to be driving it."

He huffed as he turned onto the dirt road that would lead to her daddy's house. "Because I'm going to have to drive it sometimes and I'm not getting into a Prius. We'll get a Camaro."

Beth sighed and sat back in the seat. She wasn't going to win this one. "Just no dark colors, they heat up too bad and it's hot enough without climbing into a black car."

They pulled up to the farm house and Daryl helped her out. She waddled her way inside, her thighs rubbing together. She really missed pants. The house was decorated in pink and baby things, Beth could smell the food and she was starving again, she was going to have a chubby baby, she could already tell, all she did was eat all day. She hugged everyone before sitting down in her daddy's chair. It was the most comfortable place in the house and she knew he wouldn't care.

Daryl brought her a plate so she didn't have to get up and sat next to her on the floor. Maggie and Lori had really out done themselves. The place looked amazing and the food tasted better. Everyone asked her how she was feeling and asked to see updated ultrasound pictures. At one point Daryl's phone was passed around so they could see the pregnancy photos he'd been taking since they found out so they could see just how big she'd really gotten.

Eventually they got to the presents and she was ecstatic. Maggie and Glenn had gotten her a crib and a stroller, Lori and Rick had gotten her enough clothes that she was sure the baby wasn't going to get every single thing. Her daddy had gotten some toys and a walker. Merle and Lucina had gotten bits and pieces of everything. She looked around at everything and realized there was hardly anything she and Daryl still needed to get.

By the time they got home, after Beth had insisted on helping clean up, she was dead tired. She curled up with Daryl on the couch and ended up falling asleep while they watched some movie with explosions.


	10. Chapter 10

Good Times Had

Chapter 10

Beth laughed as Carl showed her another magic trick; it was his new thing at the moment. Trying to make things disappear, he was actually pretty good at it. He'd been spending a lot of time with her lately and she was thankful for the company. When Daryl got home from work he'd take Carl home, some nights he would stay and have dinner with them and then he and Daryl would have a crossbow lesson. "Is this your card?" Carl asked, holding up the queen of hearts.

Beth shook her head. "Nope, sorry." He frowned and put the card back, looking down at them, trying to remember where he'd gone wrong. Beth smiled and watched him until she felt the wetness soak everything. "Oh shit."

"What?" Carl frowned.

"Honey, call Daryl." She got up and started making her way back to the bedroom.

"What do I tell him?" Carl called after her.

"The baby is coming!" She waddled her way back to the bedroom and grabbed the bag they had packed for her to take to the hospital with her and the binder that was sitting on the dresser with all and any paperwork they might need. She wanted to be prepared.

She walked back into the living room. "I don't know! She said the baby's coming…I can't drive!"

She rolled her eyes and took the phone from Carl. "Daryl?"

"Tell that kid to suck it up and get you to the hospital."

"Calm down, you're on your way, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, then get here." She hung up and shook her head, handing the phone back to Carl. "Call your mom and dad; tell them to meet us at the hospital." He nodded his head and did as she said. She was hoping that Daryl would call Merle and Lucina to let them know. She grabbed her own phone off the table and called Maggie and Glenn who would call her daddy. By the time Daryl threw the door open everyone knew and she was gripping the arm of the couch as a contraction barreled down on her.

"Carl, take the bag and folder and get in the car." Carl nodded, doing what Daryl told him as he went to Beth. "C'mon baby, let's get you to the hospital." He helped her out to the car and inside before running around and peeling out.

"Daryl, slow down," she snapped. "It's not like I'm not going to be in labor for a few hours." She buckled herself in and breathed through another contraction. She knew they were going to be worse later and she didn't want to freak Carl out. She'd leave that to Lori who was pregnant at the moment with another child. Daryl huffed and sped to the hospital. He drove up to the door and looked back at Carl.

"Jump out little man and get a wheelchair." Carl did as he was told as Daryl pulled into a parking space, killed the engine, and jumped out, running around and helping Beth out. She swore he was panicking more than she was and she was the one who was about to push a watermelon out of a quarter sized hole. Carl met them at the door and while Daryl got her into the wheel chair he grabbed the bags and binder from the car.

Daryl wheeled her inside and to the elevator, pushing the floor for the baby department. Beth gripped the arms of the chair as another contraction hit. "Does it hurt?" Carl asked.

She nodded her head. "Oh yeah," she breathed out as Daryl pushed them out of the elevator.

"Are we having a baby?" the nurse at the counter asked.

Beth nodded her head and took the binder from Carl. "Dixons, here's the paper work." She handed it over, breathing through her contraction as the nurse looked it over.

"Okay, follow me, we'll get you all set up." Daryl pushed her to the room the nurse led them to. "Here's a gown, why don't you get changed into it and get settled on the bed."

Beth nodded. "We've got family coming," she told the nurse as Daryl helped her out of the chair.

The nurse smiled and nodded her head. "I'll show them back when they get here."

Daryl helped her to the bathroom. "Be right back little man," he told Carl as he closed the door. He turned to Beth and pulled her dress over her head. "This is it baby." She smiled and nodded as he reached around behind her and pulled her bra off. She gripped the sink as another contraction hit.

"Shit, I can't wait for the meds," she mumbled as she kicked her panties off and he helped her into the gown, tying it up behind her. He chuckled a little as he opened the door and helped her to the bed.

"How're we doing?" They looked up as Lori and Rick walked in.

"Pain," Beth whined as a stronger contraction hit. Daryl rubbed her back and held her hand as she tried to breathe through it. "Carl's been amazing though," she told them.

Lori smiled and ran her fingers through Carl's hair. "That right? Well, your daddy better take you to the waiting room."

"But I wanted to watch!"

They all laughed a little as Rick led Carl from the room, promising him ice cream. Maggie and Glenn walked in with her daddy. "How're you doin' baby girl?" Hershel asked, kissing her head.

"I'm ready to have this baby." Beth whined as the contractions continued to grow stronger.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dixon?" They looked up at the older man standing in the door. "I'm the anesthesiologist, are you ready?"

"Oh, god yes." Daryl helped Beth sit forward so the anesthesiologist could give her the spinal tap. She gripped his hand hard as they gently laid her back to the bed. She was starting to sweat as the pain continued to get worse. She was thankful when Lori handed her some ice chips.

Not long after the man with the drugs left, the doctor walked in. "Well, hey there Beth, ready to have a baby?" Sasha asked.

"You have no idea."

Sasha smiled and sat on the stool and pulled out the stirrups. "Okay, well let's see where you're at." She pushed the blankets and downs back as she got Beth's legs into place. "How far apart are the contractions?" she asked, looking up at Daryl.

"About five minutes."

Sasha nodded her head and covered Beth back up, but didn't put her legs back down. "You're lucky Beth, this should be quick; you're already at six centimeters."

"Is that normal?" she asked, suddenly worried that something was wrong. She heard stories about woman being in labor for hours, hers had only started an hour ago.

Sasha nodded her head. "Every woman is different. I'd say in the next ten to fifteen minutes your contractions are going to get worse. You should be ready to deliver in about half an hour." She smiled a little. "I'll be back in a little bit to check on you." Beth sighed as she rested back against the pillows.

…

Lucina smiled and walked up to Merle, running her hand up his back as he finished up the car he was working on. "We better get to the hospital, Maggie just called. Apparently it's going to be a quick labor," she told him, kissing his shoulder.

Merle stood up and kissed her head. "Alright, let me go get cleaned up."

"You're not going anywhere." They looked up as four men walked into the shop. The guy who looked like he was in charge nodded at Lucina. "Grab her." Merle growled and pushed her behind him; ready to fight them all off. Two of the men jumped him, throwing him into the car he'd been working on as the other went after his Lucy. She put up a fight though, giving him a nice shiner before he backhanded her and grabbed her, holding her against him. The one in charge walked over to her and grabbed her face. "You're going to watch this." He walked over to Merle who was behind attacked by the other two. "Hold him." They dropped him to his knees and turned him around to face the one in charge, painfully holding his arms behind his back. He smirked and knelt in front of Merle. "You're going to get your ass kicked here, and if you behave, we won't touch the girl. Then, I'm going to call an ambulance and you're going to the hospital to deliver a message to your brother and that cop. They can either get the hell out of the city, or we can kill them." He punched Merle in the stomach.

"Let him go," Lucina growled, struggling to get away from the man holding her. They didn't listen to her. She watched as they beat Merle to near unconsciousness before they let his body fall to the floor, blood pooling around him. "Merle, baby look at me."

"He'll be fine." The leader nodded at his man to let her go. "Don't let him forget, he has a message to deliver."

Lucy glared up at him as she knelt beside Merle, pulling his head onto her lap. As the men left she could hear the sirens from the ambulance off in the distance. "You okay, sugar?" he asked, wiping blood from her lip where she'd been slapped.

She laughed, tears in her eyes. "I'm fine, idiot." She pulled her tee shirt off and wiped the blood from his face as the ambulance showed up.

"Good," he whispered out. She stayed beside him as they put him on a stretcher and loaded him into the back of the ambulance.

"We need to go to county, his brother and sister-in-law are there having a baby," she told EMT. He nodded his head and alerted the driver as he started to work on Merle, assessing the damage. She held his hand as they stuck him with needles. Whoever they were, they were going to be sorry.

…

Beth screamed as she gripped Daryl's hand, probably breaking it. "That's it Beth, push," Sasha coached from between her legs. She shut her eyes tight and pushed as hard as she could. "That's it, there's the head, we just need to get through the shoulders. "One more push."

Her body hurt and she was so tired. "I can't," she whined, tears leaking from her eyes. The drugs felt like they'd worn off ten minutes ago.

Daryl kissed her head. "Yes you can baby, c'mon, one more push." He stroked her hair and kissed her head again. "C'mon."

Beth nodded her head weakly and took a deep breath before she pushed again. "Good girl, Beth," Sasha praised. "That's it, come on, just a little more." Beth was sure she couldn't do this, it hurt so much, but when she heard the cries of her baby, felt her body give way as she pushed it out relief swam through her. It was over, she'd done it. "You did so well, Beth. Daryl you want to cut the cord?"

Daryl nodded his head and kissed Beth's head before going over to cut the cord. Sasha handed the baby to one of the nurses to clean up and wrap in a blanket. "She's gorgeous," Daryl told her as he came back, kissing her head. He grabbed one of the towels and wiped her forehead. "You did so good baby."

"Here she is," Sasha said smiling, gently laying the tiny baby girl in Beth's arms.

Beth stared down at her and the second she saw her face she fell in love. Tears fell from her eyes as she stared down at the little person she and Daryl had made, this little human they had brought into the world. "She's perfect," she whispered, smiling down at her.

Sasha smiled and looked at them. "We'll give you a little time before we come in to do the paper work."

Beth smiled as she left and looked at Daryl. "I love you."

He smiled and kissed her head. "I love you too."

They sat there, staring down at their baby girl, little Abigail, just watching her. Beth couldn't imagine ever putting her down. She wanted to hold her forever. Daryl went to the door when there was a soft knock. "What's up?" he asked. Whoever it was said something and he looked back over at Beth. "Baby, I'll be right back." He walked out, letting in Maggie and Hershel.

…

Daryl followed Rick down the hall. "What happened?"

"Merle was rushed in by ambulance, Lucina is with him. Apparently they were attacked at the shop." Daryl swore and followed Rick to the room his brother was in.

"Look like shit," he mumbled as he walked in. Merle flipped him off. "What happened?" he asked, looking at Lucina.

She shook her head. "I don't know who they were, he doesn't either. They came in and started beating him up. They said to give you a message, either you two and the cop can leave the city, or they're going to kill you." She frowned, looking at Merle. "I couldn't do anything."

Daryl shook his head, noticing the busted lip. "He's already going to be pissed off that they marked up your face, trust me, he's happy you couldn't do anything." Daryl kissed her head before looking at Merle. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine. How's your old lady?" he asked.

Daryl smiled a little, crossing his arms. "Little girl, god she's beautiful."

Merle smirked and looked at him. "Pussy."

Daryl shook his head and walked out with Rick. "What are we going to do?" Daryl asked, looking at him. He was the cop; this was his territory, not his.

Rick sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. "Lucy is going to sit down with a sketch artist in a little bit, once she's sure Merle is stable. I'll do what I can, but I have a feeling this is connected to the drive by the happened two months ago." Daryl nodded his head and rubbed his face. It had been a long night. "Go back to Beth and your little girl. I'll deal with this and let you know what I can turn up."

Daryl nodded and thanked him before letting Lucina know what room they were in. He made his way back to his wife and daughter. Whoever was fucking with his family was going to feel pretty damn stupid when they realized they were fucking with the wrong people.


	11. Chapter 11

Good Times Had

Chapter 11

Beth couldn't keep her body facing straight. Every five seconds she was turning around to look at Abby, asleep in the back seat. They weren't even halfway home before she was completely turned around. Blindly she reached out and took Daryl's hand as he drove them home. "I told you to just ride in the back," he teased, glancing at her as he turned down their street.

She shook her head. "I wanted to be close to you." She smiled a little as they pulled into the driveway. "I just can't believe she's really ours." Beth leaned over and kissed him as he shut the car off. "I love you."

"Love you too." He got out and walked around and opened the door for her before opening up the back. "Do you want to carry her?" he asked.

Beth nodded, grinning as she slipped under his arms and gently picked Abby out of her car seat and headed for the door while Daryl grabbed the bags. Everyone was there and waiting for them. Merle was already opening the door before she was even on the porch. "There's my two girls." He grinned and kissed her head. "How're we doing?" he asked.

"Perfect." Beth walked in and said hello to everyone, and reluctantly passed Abby around so everyone could hold her. She smiled as Carl sat on the couch and held her, staring down at her. "She's so perfect."

Maggie nodded her head. "I adore her name."

Beth smiled. "So does Daryl." She looked up at him as he slipped his arm around her. "She's gonna be daddy's spoiled little girl."

"Damn straight, and ain't no boy ever comin' near her." Daryl huffed and looked down at her. "Ever."

Beth just smiles and patted his chest. "We'll see."

…

Daryl enjoyed everyone's company. He was letting Beth catch up with Maggie, Lori, and Lucina as he held Abby, rocking her in the kitchen with the men who were all drinking. "We found out some information," Rick said, looking at him. "We know who sent the attack at the garage."

"Who did it?" Daryl asked, holing Abby just a little closer.

"The Governor sent the attack. He hired the Chinese drug lords to attack us. Apparently he wants to get rid of us so he can move drugs through the city." Rick ran a hand through his hair. "We don't have any real proof that we can use against him though."

Daryl sighed and nodded, looking down at Abby. He was going to do whatever it took to keep her safe. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her. Ever.

…

Beth smiled, cooing at Abby in the car set on the desk. She wasn't supposed to be at work, she was supposed to be at home, resting, but she'd had to get out of the house for a little bit and had talked Rick into picking her up and dropping her off. Daryl was going to take her home at lunch. She just missed being around everyone and the shop.

"Hey Beth, this just came in the mail," Maggie said, bringing a small box into the shop. She frowned a little; she didn't remember Daryl or Merle ordering any parts. "Where do you want me to put it?" she asked.

"Just set it by the computer, I'll get to it in a minute." Maggie nodded and left the box, heading back out to the shop. Daryl was teaching her how to replace a battery today. Beth smiled and checked on Abby once more, kissing her head before going to the box. She grabbed the box opener and slid the blade out, slicing through the tape. She opened the box, and screamed.

Everyone came running, thinking something was wrong with Abby. Beth fell back against the wall; tears streaming from her face as Daryl looked into the box and swore, telling Glenn to get Maggie out before she could see. Merle took the box away as Daryl knelt in front of Beth and pulled her close. She didn't even hear Abby start to cry as she held onto Daryl sobbing into his shirt.

"What's in the box?" Maggie demanded, trying to get past Glenn who held her tight. "Beth!"

Beth slowly looked over at her sister. "Daddy," she whispered. Maggie's eyes grew wide, spilling tears as she gripped Glenn's arms and fell to her knees. Beth looked up at Daryl. "Who did this?" she asked, her voice choking on her sobs.

Daryl looked over at Rick. "I'm going to kill him." Rick nodded his head, holding onto Lori who was just as upset as everyone else. Hershel had nothing to do with what the governor wanted to do, he shouldn't have been the victim in all of this. Daryl picked Beth up and carried her to the car, getting her inside of it before going back for Abby and strapping her car seat into the back. Merle and Lucina worked on closing up the shop as Glenn got Maggie into their own car. Daryl drove Beth home, keeping his fingers laced with hers until they were inside. He settled her onto the couch and sat beside her, rocking Abby who was still whining.

"She's hungry," Beth whispered, holding out her arms for her. Daryl didn't argue. He slowly passed the baby to her and let her feed her. He kept his arm around her, rubbing her back. She didn't deserve this. If she'd never met him, none of this would have happened. He rested his head against her as she cried silently, staring down at their daughter.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

She shook her head, swallowing hard. "He didn't deserve this."

"I know, and I'm going to make that son of a bitch pay, I promise." She looked up at him with shinning, dark blue diamond eyes, a rage burning in them. "I swear on my life." She nodded her head and looked back down at Abby.

…

Everyone was staring to leave. Daryl was rocking Abby, dressed in black, standing behind Beth and Maggie with Glenn as the sisters stared at the casket being lowered into the ground. Rick came to stand beside them as Lori went to the girls. "We need to do something about this," Glenn muttered. "Maggie hasn't stopped crying.

Daryl shook his head. "Beth was doing great with the depression, but now…I can't even get her out of bed some days. She keeps Abby right there next to her." He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Rick. "Are you with us?"

"I'm always with you."

Daryl nodded his head. "I'm going to call the governor. Tell him where we want to meet."

Rick nodded. "Somewhere out of town, somewhere abandoned where I can make it look like a drug deal gone bad. Chances are he's going to have the Chinese with him again. We need to be ready for a war."

Daryl nodded his head and sent the message. He was more than ready for a war. He wanted blood.


	12. Chapter 12

Good Times Had

Chapter 11

Beth bounced Abby as she paced around the kitchen, watching Daryl and Merle and Glenn and Rick get ready for war. She was slightly alarmed by the number of guns on her kitchen table. She really didn't want them to go anywhere and she honestly could not understand how he thought going off to fight a war with someone who had no problem beheading people was a good idea when they had a month old baby. She'd tried to talk with him, tried to reason with him, but he was so damn stubborn he wouldn't hear any of it. He slid a clip into a .45 as the other women walked into the room.

"We're going with you," Maggie told them. "That was my father, Beth can't go, she's got Abby, but Lori, Lucina, and I are going." She crossed her arms and Beth knew as well as the boys did that they were just as stubborn as the men were.

Glenn sighed, but nodded his head. He'd been with Maggie long enough to know that when she put her mind to something it was going to get done. "Okay," he answered, handing her a gun. Rick ran down the basics with Lori to make sure she was going to be okay. They weren't exactly going to be able to protect each other while there was a firefight going on.

Beth shook her head and left the kitchen. She didn't want any of them to go. She knew why they were going, appreciated why they were going, but she didn't want anyone else she loved to get hurt. She looked up when Michonne walked through the door. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Daryl called; he told me what's going on. He asked if I'd stay with you while they're out." Michonne shrugged out of her coat and smiled a little. "They're going to be just fine."

Beth sighed and nodded her head, putting Abby down in her swing and set it on the lowest setting. "You can't honestly tell me that you're okay with this."

Michonne shrugged as she sat on the couch. "I'm not saying that murder is okay, but, I'm not saying that these boys are wrong either. There's no legal way to prove that he did it, and as long as Rick can make it look like a drug deal gone bad, I don't see how any of this will come back to you."

Beth crossed her arms and paced around the living room, trying to stay out of Carl's way. He was staying behind too and Daryl had gotten him set up playing video games. She looked up as Daryl walked in, taking note of just how many weapons were attached to his body. He pulled her into him and kissed her head. "I love you," he whispered.

She nodded her head, tears welling up in her eyes as she imagined the worst happening. "I love you too." She looked up at him and cupped his face in her hands. "You come back to me in one piece, understand?"

He nodded his head and kissed her before putting a gun into her hand. "Just in case." Beth nodded her head and walked them to the door. They climbed into two cars before backing out of the driveway and taking off. Beth really hated watching him go but as soon as the taillights had disappeared she closed the door and locked it.

"Carl?" she asked, looking at him. He paused his game and looked up at her. "If someone comes to this house that isn't Daryl or your daddy, you take my baby, and you go upstairs, and you lock the bedroom door. Understand?"

Carl nodded his head. "Yeah, I understand."

Beth nodded and sighed. "Good." She took the gun in her hand and turned the safety off and cocked it, sliding a bullet into the chamber. No one was getting into this house without a fight. She honestly was not surprised when Michonne pulled out her own gun.

…

Daryl pulled the car up to the meeting place and parked. They were outside of the city by a few miles, under an old bridge that was covered in empty bottles, graffiti, and abandoned cars. No one was going to bother them down here. Philip was waiting for them when they showed up and they slowly, all climbed out of their cars, making sure they had guns in their hands, but didn't point any of them. "Did you enjoy your gift?" Philip asked.

Daryl growled and took a step forward. "Are you ready to die?"

Philip laughed and snapped his fingers. Chinese gangsters came from everywhere, all holding guns on them. "Are you?"

Rick tried to be the voice of reason then, the cop taking over. "We don't have to do this." He looked at Philip. "You want to traffic drugs through my city, but that's not going to happen, and if this goes down the way you and Daryl want it to go down, more than one person is going to die."

Philip smirked and crossed his arms, and they didn't miss the gun in his hand. "That's what I'm counting on." He quickly uncrossed his arms and shot at Rick, just barely missing. It was over from there. Guns were fired, bulletins rained down on either side. Daryl pulled Rick behind the door of the car where they shot from.

"Did you really think it was going to be that easy?" Daryl demanded as he shot over the door, the glass from the window getting shot out. They brushed the glass off of them and returned fire. Daryl tried to keep an eye on everyone as bodies dropped on the other side. He heard Lucina cry out as a bullet grazed her shoulder and Merle jumped up, rage burning in his eyes as he went crazy.

Daryl swore and aimed all of his attention on the Governor. Soon, the gun fire died down, slowly, but it died down. When they saw Rick put a bullet in Philip and saw him hit the ground, everyone stopped, what was left of the Chinese drove off, leaving their leader stranded and bleeding out. Merle knelt beside Lucina, pulling his shirt off and pressing it against her arm as she assured him she was alright. Rick and Daryl started to set things up, pulling on gloves, to make sure that it looked like a drug deal gone bad.

…

Beth's eyes flew to the door when she heard the knock. She nodded at Carl who gently picked up Abby and carried her upstairs. She waited until she heard the door shut before she got off the couch and slowly walked over to the door. She looked through the peek hole. "It's not them," she whispered, looking over at Michonne. She started to pull her gun up to aim at whoever was behind the door, but the door was kicked in and she hit the wall behind her, the gun falling from her hand. Two men walked into the house, one grabbing Beth around the neck and holding a gun on her, the other holding a gun on Michonne.

A third man walked into the house. "Go look for the baby and the kid." Beth growled and tried to get away from her attacker as the other man walked through the house. No one was going to touch her baby. She clawed and scratched his hand, holding her throat. He growled as she drew blood and slapped her. As Beth hit the ground her eyes landed on the gun. She scramble for it and wrapped her arms around it, spinning and putting a bullet in his leg. She got up quickly and kicked his gun away.

While the man holding the gun on Michonne had been distracted Michonne had gotten his gun away from him. Beth looked at the man who'd been halfway up the stairs. "Get down here, now," she demanded. He held his hands up and slowly walked down the stairs. "I'll give you one chance to leave my house, if you're not gone by the time my husband gets home, I can promise you, he won't be as giving as I am."

They didn't waste any time, they picked up their wounded and left. Beth hit the ground, dropping the gun and kicked the door closed. "Are you okay?" Michonne asked, walking over. Beth could taste blood in her mouth from where she'd been slapped. She nodded her head and wiped the blood away.

"Carl, sweetheart, you can come down now," she called out, letting Michonne help her off of the floor. Carl came down slowly and handed Abby to Beth. She took the little girl who had slept through everything and held her close as she walked to the couch and sat down. "Go ahead and keep playing your games," Beth told Carl as he sat between Beth and Michonne. He nodded his head and went back to playing.

It wasn't long before Daryl busted through the door, gun raised, thinking something was going on because of the broken door. He looked over at the four on the couch and took a breath, slowly lowering his gun. "What happened?" he asked, walking over and taking Abby from Beth.

"Three men came in, but Beth shot one of them and chased them off." Michonne stood up and stretched. "Everyone okay?" she asked, looking over at the door as the others came in.

"Lucina got grazed, she's got a pretty bad flesh wound, other than that, we're all okay." Daryl looked over as Merle carried Lucina in. Beth walked over and got the medical kit down. "Put her on the kitchen table," Daryl told him.

Beth started to dress the wound as the others gathered around and put their weapons on the table. Lori hugged Carl. "He did great," Beth told her. "Wouldn't mind having him around more often." She smiled and gave Carl a wink. "He's a great babysitter." Lori smiled and kissed his head. Beth bandaged up Lucina's arm and kissed her head. "All better, you okay?"

Lucina nodded and looked over at Merle. "I think he's more traumatized than I am."

Beth hugged her brother and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for helping him." Merle nodded and walked over to Lucina, pulling her close and holding onto her, needing the reassurance that she was really alright. Beth understood, once they put Abby down for the night, she was going to hold onto him and not let him go until she had to. The only saving grace was that everything was over for now. They could try to mourn Hershel and get back to their lives. Hopefully.


	13. Chapter 13

Good Times Had

Chapter 12

He was going to kill them. He was going to kill every last one of them and make Dixon and Grimes watch as he did it. They thought he was dead; they'd left him there, bleeding out. If they thought one bullet was going to put him down, they were sadly mistaken. He was licking his wounds—for now. Soon enough he'd be back, with a better plan of attack, with more men, more guns. Next time, they wouldn't be so lucky. He was already working on his next plan, to let them know he was still alive. They had to have some kind of an idea by now. His body hadn't been reported at the crime scene, just a drug deal gone bad. That cop was smart, too damn smart for his own good, and with fire power like the Dixons behind him, Philip knew his next plan had to be perfect.

…

Beth was sitting on the couch, watching Daryl play with Abby. It had been almost a month since the attack on the governor and things had quieted down tremendously. They were all a little wary, his body hadn't been reported. Rick had no idea where it'd gone. No one was covering up for them. She smiled as Merle and Lucina walked into the house. "You guys were out all night, where'd you go?" she asked as they came over to the couch.

Lucina grinned and held out her hand, flashing the diamond on her finger. Beth's eyes widened as she stared between the thing and Merle. Daryl sat up slowly and looked at his brother. "You proposed?" he asked, passing Abby to Beth.

Merle nodded, putting his arm around Lucina. "Sure did." He smirked and kissed her head. "Figured it was about time I made an honest woman out of her." Daryl just stared at his brother. "Close your mouth Darlina, flies will get in."

"I never thought I would see the day when Merle Dixon popped the question." He smirked and sat on Beth's other side, taking Abby back when she wined for him.

"I think it's sweet." Beth grinned and looked at the ring again. "Not to mention that is one gorgeous rock."

Lucina smiled and looked at Merle. "I had no idea that's what he wanted to talk about last night when we went out. I swear, I think I need a body guard with me with something like this on my finger." She kissed Merle. "I do love him though."

Beth smirked and sat back. "Well, it's settled then, I'm going to throw you guys an engagement party. We deserve a reason to celebrate after everything that's happened." No one disagreed so Beth and Lucina started to make the arrangements in the kitchen while Daryl and Merle took care of Abby.

"You two gonna have one?" Daryl asked when Abby crawled across the couch to Merle.

He sighed and picked her up, gently throwing her in the air before catching her, causing her to shriek with laughter. "Dunno, think I'm a little old for a kid."

Daryl shook his head. "Nah man, you should have one. Think you'd be a great dad."

Merle smirked a bit. "Yeah, maybe." He sighed and looked at Daryl, holding Abby over his head. "When did we go soft?"

Daryl smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "The second those two walked into our lives."

…

Beth sighed as she walked around the house, shutting off lights and doing what little cleaning she could. Daryl and Merle and Lucina were all working late tonight. Apparently they had fallen behind and needed to get two paint jobs done and three engines tuned up before they could come home. She'd put Abby down about an hour ago and she was starting to get bored. She thought about calling Lori to see if her and Rick wanted to come over but then she remembered Rick was working late too and Lori had taken Carl out of town for the weekend to see his grandparents.

She sighed and sat on the couch and stared at the television. There wasn't anything good on anymore so she didn't even bother. She was contemplating just going to bed when a crash from the kitchen had her jumping off the couch. She ran in and saw the dangerous orange and yellow flames licking the walls, the table, everything. The broken bottle on the ground told her exactly what had happened. Someone had thrown a bottle of lit alcohol into the house. Panic flooded through her as the fire spread, the flames already intense.

She ran upstairs and into Abby's room. She could still feel the heat under her feet as the fire started to burn through the first floor ceiling. She grabbed a towel and quickly ran to the bathroom, soaking it before wrapping Abby up in it and holding her close. If she was lucky she could make it to the front door, if they flames hadn't spread that far. The back door was a lost cause. If worse came to worse she'd have to climb out of a window.

She ran back out of the room, trying to remain as calm as possible. Abby was screaming in her arms. She started to make her way down the stairs when she heard it. The fire had spread too far too quickly. The beams in the ceiling started to come down. Beth pressed herself against the wall, turning and shielding her daughter with her body as it fell to the ground. She slowly turned back around and looked as the smoke thickened, choking her. The beam had fallen in front of the door and the flames were blocking any other exit from the house. Beth chewed her lip nervously, coughing as the smoke and lack of oxygen started to become too much for her. She carried Abby back upstairs, looking for another way out of the burning house.

…

Daryl sighed as he started to get cleaned up so he could head home. He'd wanted to be done hours ago; he knew Beth would be asleep by now. He was locking up the garage, Merle and Lucina waiting by their bikes for him when his phone rang. "Yeah?" he asked, answering the phone as he locked the doors.

"Daryl, it's Rick. You need to get home. Now."

Daryl could hear the panic in Rick's voice. "What happened?" he demanded, fearing the worst for his wife and daughter.

"There's a fire, the trucks are there, but I don't know what's going on."

Daryl hung up the phone and ran to his bike. "There's a fire at the house," he told Merle and Lucina as he jumped on his bike and started it. He ignored every traffic law as he sped home, needing to get there, needing to see that his family was alright. He didn't have any delusions about who'd started that fire. He and Rick had suspected Philip was still around. This was just revenge for shooting him up. Daryl was going to kill the son of a bitch.

They could see the flames as they turned onto their block. It wasn't a fire, it was an inferno. His heart was racing a million miles a second as he pulled up and shut off the bike. He pushed his way past the police blocking the pedestrians, telling him it was his house. He looked everywhere for Beth and Abby but he didn't see them. Not until he stared in horror at the burning house as a fireman carried Beth out, holding Abby against her.

He ran to them. "Are they alright?" he demanded.

The firefighter gently set Beth down as the paramedics came over. "The baby is fine," he assured Daryl. "She was smart, wrapped her in a wet towel. I don't know about her, she was passed out."

Daryl took Abby from the paramedics when they had finished looking her over, making sure she hadn't breathed in too much smoke. Daryl rocked her, tried to soothe her crying as he paced, watching them look at Beth. They hooked her up to a tank of oxygen as they checked her vitals. She was covered in soot. Daryl bit his lip as they brought a stretcher over. "What's going on?" he demanded.

The female paramedic looked up at him. "As far as we know she's okay, she's just unconscious. Once she wakes up we'll know more." Daryl nodded and followed them to the ambulance. "We're not going to take her to the hospital just yet. Her vitals are all good so she's not in any danger. If that changes we'll take her then."

Daryl nodded and kissed Abby's head as Merle and Lucina came over. "Are they okay?" Merle asked.

Daryl sighed and looked at him. "Abby is, Beth won't wake up but they said she's fine." He didn't know if that was a good thing or not. If she was okay, why wouldn't she open her eyes? Ten minutes. He paced back and forth for ten minutes before Beth finally opened her eyes, coughing and gasping for air. "Beth? Baby it's okay, I'm right here."

"Abby?" she asked, her voice hoarse. The paramedics started to give her water, already having attached her to an IV.

"She's fine baby." Daryl slowly climbed into the ambulance and put Abby in her mother's arms. "Thought I'd lost you both," he whispered, resting his head against hers.

Beth bit her lip and stared down at Abby. "Someone through a bottle of alcohol into the house. That's how the fire started," she told him, not taking her eyes off her daughter.

"I'll get an officer." Lucina ran off to find a police man who could take Beth's statement.

Beth slowly looked up at Daryl. "This was Philip."

He nodded his head and kissed her. "I know baby." He sighed and looked down at Abby. "Don't worry, this time, I'll make sure the job gets done." He held them close as their family and friends started to show up. He didn't leave her side as she gave her statement to the officer. Once they were cleared to leave they all decided it wasn't safe to stay alone. Merle and Lucina went home with Rick who had called Lori and told her what was going on while Daryl, Beth, and Abby went home with Maggie and Glenn.

Daryl was on call with Rick the whole way home, both men having their phones on speaker. They talked about the plan for attack. Philip had crossed the line this time, endangering not only Beth's life, but the life of Daryl's daughter. He wasn't going to come out of this one alive. They were all going to make sure of that.


	14. Chapter 14

Good Times Had

Chapter 13

Beth sighed as she walked into the kitchen in her childhood home. Everyone had agreed that if Philip wasn't really dead it wasn't safe for anyone to be alone. Merle and Lucina had gone to stay with Rick and Lori while herself, Daryl, and Abby had come to stay with Maggie and Glenn. She hated being in the house sometimes. It just reminded her that her daddy was gone. She found everyone in the kitchen, Daryl feeding Abby while they talked about their plan for attack. She got a cup of coffee, grateful that she could drink it again now that Abby was off of breast milk and onto baby food. She sat on Daryl's lap, taking over the feeding as she listened to them.

"We have to figure out where he's hiding before we can do anything. I heard at the station earlier that no one has seen or heard from him since the fight last week." Rick ran a hand through his hair. "I think we're okay for now, he doesn't want to be found, which means he's not going to order any attacks."

"Yeah, but how long is that going to last?" Glenn asked. "It can't last forever."

"No, but we'll take what we can get right now." Daryl kissed Beth's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "We can't worry about that right now. In fact, it's better that we don't." He looked at Merle and Lucina. "We still need to celebrate you two getting together."

"How do you plan to celebrate?" Merle asked, crossing his arms.

Beth smiled and looked over at him. "Why don't you boys go out tonight?" she suggested. "The girls can have a night here, just us, and you can all go out and do whatever boys do."

"It's not a bad idea," Rick agreed.

"And it would be nice to let off a little steam." Glenn rubbed his face. "God knows we could all use it."

Maggie nodded her head, rubbing his back. "I think it's a great idea."

Lori nodded. "My friend Jess could watch Carl and Abby for the night if you want," she offered.

Beth smiled. "I would love that." She kissed Abby's head. She might not enjoy leaving her baby for a few hours, but she knew she needed it. With that settled, Lori called Jess to see if she could watch the baby and Carl while everyone else made plans on what they were going to do. Lucina and Maggie headed into town to get supplies while Lori gave Rick and Daryl directions to Jess' so they could drop the kids off on their way to the bar. Beth smiled; it was nice to return to a sense of normalcy.

…

Beth laughed, taking another shot as Lori told them a joke. She was completely relaxed and none of them were thinking about Philip or wars, or anyone dying tonight. They were all well past the tipsy stage and quickly onto the drunk phase.

She smiled and went to the kitchen, bringing some more drinks with her when she came back. "This is amazing," she commented, falling onto the couch between Lucina and Maggie.

"This is perfect." Lucina finished her drink and quickly poured another. "We all really needed this."

"Let's just hope the boys remember to take a cab home," Maggie mumbled. "Glenn is terrible when he's drunk and if they try to drive with him they're going to crash because he'll freak out." They all laughed, pouring more drinks.

The night was going so well, until the door was kicked in and Philip walked in with a few men, all holding guns on them. "You son of a bitch," Beth spat, getting up. The drunken state she was in had her paying no attention to the gun pointed on her as she slapped him. "You almost killed my baby."

He growled and backhanded her hard enough to split her lip. "I suggest you sit down and shut up little girl." He gave the order to tie up all of the women. His men brought in kitchen chairs and tied them all to them, putting them in a circle. He smirked and reached into Beth's pocket and pulled her cell phone out and found Daryl's number. "You're going to tell him what's going on, and you're going to tell him to come save you." He dialed the number and held it up to her ear. "If you don't I'll start killing people."

Beth glared up at him as she waited for Daryl to answer. "Hey beautiful," he said over the line.

"Daryl…Philip is here…we're all tied up." She growled when Philip pulled the phone away from her ear.

"I suggest you hurry up redneck, unless you want your daughter to grow up without a mother." He pointed his gun at Beth and pulled the trigger.

…

The last thing Daryl heard before the call was disconnected was a gun shot. He growled, jumping up and running to the car. The others weren't far behind him. "What's going on?" Rick demanded as they climbed into the car.

"Philip has the girls held hostage…I heard a gunshot." He jumped into the car and started it, peeling away from the bar they'd been at as soon as all of the doors were closed. Beth had better be alive when he showed up. He sped to the farm house and slammed on the breaks in the driveway, running inside, his gun in hand.

Beth was fine; the bullet hadn't hit her, just the floor in front of her feet. They were all bound and gagged in a circle, but they didn't see any sign of Philip or his men anywhere. He slowly started to walk towards her, the others behind him. He was halfway to Beth when Philip walked out from behind the wall leading to the hallway with a gun pointed on him. "Don't even think about it. Step back." Daryl growled, but did as Philip said, moving a few steps back as he walked in front of the girls.

"Let them go, Philip," Rick growled.

He smirked and shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I think I'm going to kill them all, make you watch and then kill you." He smirked and pulled a knife out and stepped back so he was standing beside Maggie.

"Don't you dare, you son of a bitch," Glenn snapped, moving forward.

Philip drove the knife deep into Maggie's thigh. She screamed as the flesh and muscles were torn and blood pooled on her jeans and dripped to the floor. "Stay the fuck back," Philip sneered. "Next time it'll be her neck."

Rick and Daryl held Glenn back as they watched Philip move to Lucina next. Trying to keep Merle in place was going to be more difficult. He had a hot head and a short temper, and he was a Dixon. Philip looked at Lucina then looked over at Merle. "You're going to die you mother fucker," Merle growled, his fists clenching at his sides.

Philip smirked and took the knife, stabbing her in the shoulder. Lucina screamed behind the gag in her mouth and doubled over as he ripped it out, not caring if he tore flesh. "No, I don't think so." Lori was next. Rick growled, but stayed where he was. "Let's see…the cop's wife. Where should I put my pretty knife?" Philip was just taunting with them now. He looked up at Rick and smirked. "Oh, I know." He stabbed Lori, deep in the side and Rick hit the ground. Unless Philip knew what he was doing, he could have severed arteries. Lori's scream broke Rick and Daryl had to help him back up. He walked around to Beth, standing in front of her, looking down at her. "I know exactly where to stab you." He drove the knife deep into her belly and Daryl cried out as Beth's eyes went wide and she screamed. "You're not going to be bringing anymore Dixons into the world. Ever."

Daryl lunged, seeing red. He pulled Philip off of Beth, the knife with him and tackled him to the ground as the others pulled their guns and shot his men. Daryl straddled him, beating him, his fists colliding with his face over and over again. He was out of breath by the time he reached for the knife. Philip punched him, knocking Daryl off of his body and stabbed him in the upper thigh with the knife. Daryl grunted, kicking him in the head as Merle ran over and grabbed Philip, pulling him to his feet and holding his arms behind his back. "Do it baby brother."

Daryl pulled the knife from his leg and stabbed Philip in the stomach, dragging the knife up, severing skin, muscles, organs. Merle let him fall as they ran to their women, untying and ungagging them, Rick on the phone, calling an ambulance and telling them to hurry. Daryl pulled Beth from the chair and held her close, tears in his eyes as he held her against him.

"Beth, you gotta stay with me," he told her.

She smiled and laced their fingers. "I'm not going anywhere," she promised him. He kissed her head and held her close as they waited for the ambulance. She wasn't going to die on him, she was stronger than that, after everything they'd been through, they both knew she was going to be just fine. He picked her up when he heard the ambulance pull in and carried her out, Rick right behind him with Lori. They needed attention first, Lucina and Maggie would scar, but they would be okay.

Daryl handed Beth over to the paramedics. They loaded her into the back, Lori into another and sped them to the hospital while the other paramedics in the third ambulance ran inside to look after the others. Rick stayed behind to explain things to the cops that showed up.


	15. Chapter 15

Good Times Had

Epilogue

Daryl smirked, standing beside his brother with his best friends as Lucina walked down the aisle, a vision in white and Merle couldn't take his eyes off of her. Daryl looked over at Beth who was dressed in the pretties blue as she held and bounced Abby in her arms. Lucina and Merle and chosen Abby's birthday to get married on, and beside the gorgeous wedding cake on the table inside was a smaller cake for his daughter. Lucina wasn't telling many people, but they had more than just a wedding and a birthday to celebrate today too. She was pregnant. Merle had nearly passed out when she'd told him.

What no one but Daryl and Beth knew was that she was pregnant too. Philip had missed everything vital when he'd stabbed her and as soon as Beth had been well enough, they started working on having another baby. She'd told him that morning while they were getting ready. Daryl watched his brother awkwardly stumble his way through his vows and pull Lucina close, kissing her in front of everyone before the party got started.

He was on the dance floor with Beth, one arm wrapped around her as they swayed back and forth, the other holding Abby who had fallen asleep against his chest. He bent and kissed both of their heads. "I love you," he whispered to Beth.

She smiled and leaned up. "I love you too."

Lucina walked over and hugged them. "We're going to go," she told them. "Merle's getting anxious to start the honeymoon." Beth smiled and hugged them as they walked them over to Merle's bike. Lucina climbed on behind him and held on tightly.

"You be careful with her, she's got precious cargo," Daryl warned, handing his brother an envelope with plane tickets and money in it.

Merle nodded his head. "Don't worry about that none baby brother." He kissed Beth's cheek and Abby's head. "We'll see you in a week."

Daryl nodded and kissed Lucina before watching them take off. He wrapped his arm around Beth and led her over to the car. "Let's go home." Beth nodded her head and helped Daryl get Abby in the car seat before they went home.

…

Nine months later.

Daryl and Merle were standing outside of the nursery window, staring inside at two small blue bundles as their women slept. They hadn't thought it would really happen, but Lucina had gone into labor, followed by Beth an hour later. They both had sons, sleeping side by side. "They're going to be hell raisers when they're older," Daryl commented, staring at Able.

Merle nodded his head, watching as Cain shifted in his blanket. "Just like their old man." He smirked and clapped his brother on the shoulder. "Congrats bro."

Daryl nodded his head. "You too man, you too."


End file.
